Australian PM announces cabinet reshuffle
Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has declared a cabinet reshuffle following the resignation of three ministers and ahead of the departure of two others.
The reshuffle was announced by the Australian premier — who was voted into office in September 2015 — on Saturday. He introduced six new ministers ahead of upcoming elections in September.
“This is transition, this is change, this is renewal and it’s very... important,” Turnbull said in a press conference. He said the changes revitalize the government through the promotion of younger ministers.
Turnbull said he did not foresee any further changes in his cabinet before the next polls.
The cabinet changes were prompted by separate statements issued by Trade Minister Andrew Robb as well as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss announcing plans to retire from politics following the next elections.
The two ministers are considered key members of Turnbull’s cabinet.
Robb has been credited for sealing bilateral free trade pacts with Australia’s major trading partners, including China, Japan and South Korea. According to local reports, he is to be succeeded by Steven Ciobo, but will remain involved in the portfolio as a special envoy for trade until the next polls.
Truss’ portfolio will be shared between two veteran ministers.
Also in late December 2015, the minister for cities and the built environment, Jamie Briggs, resigned after a female public servant complained about his drunken behavior in a Hong Kong bar.
Another minister, Human Services Minister Stuart Robert, resigned on Friday after an investigation found he had had a potential financial interest in a trip he made to Beijing with an Australian businessman.
A third minister, Special Minister of State Mal Brough, resigned on Saturday because a police investigation into whether he illegally accessed a House of Representative speaker’s diary was likely to drag on for months.
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